KR20170101911A - Welding assistance device with a welding mask having a velocity sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

The welding auxiliary device comprises a welding mask (9), a welding speed sensor (11) attached on the welding mask (9) and configured to detect the welding speed (Wa); And a visualization device 15 attached to the welding mask 9 and arranged to show the welder the welding speed Wa and an indication of the resulting heat input.

Description

[0001] WELDING ASSISTANCE DEVICE WITH A WELDING MASK HAVING A VELOCITY SENSOR [0002]

Objects of the present disclosure are directed to a welding mask and an arc welding kit, that is to say a set of tools used for carrying out a manual arc welding operation.

Known arc welding kits include welding masks and welding tools. The welding tool includes an electrode. During the welding operations, an electric arc occurs between the electrode and the welding area.

In Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW), a first type of arc welding, the electrode itself is melted due to the heat generated by the electric arc, thereby becoming a filling material in welding. In a tungsten inert gas (Tungsten inert gas: TIG) welding, which is a second type of arc welding, the electrode is solid and the filling material is provided separately.

More particularly, the kit is capable of detecting the main operating parameters of the welding process, namely voltage (V), current (A), welding speed (W) And a set of sensors. The welding mask can be provided with a display device that can present these parameters to the welding engineer, thereby providing the welding engineer with the possibility to correct the welding in real time. An example of such a welding mask is found in document US 6242711 B1.

A disadvantage of known welding kits is that they only provide welding parameters to the welder. However, this does not guarantee that the welder will be able to adjust and correct the weld being improperly performed. In other words, the welding operation itself is still heavily dependent on the operator's manual technique. This is particularly true of the welding voltage, since the welding voltage is mainly determined by the distance of the electrode from the welding area.

The first embodiment of the invention therefore relates to a welding auxiliary device. Such a device includes a welding mask and a welding speed sensor attached to the welding mask. The welding speed sensor is configured to detect the welding speed. A visualization device is attached to the welding mask and arranged to show the welder an indication of the welding speed and the resulting heat input.

Advantageously, in this manner, the welder has feedback on the welding speed, which, in addition to constant current and stable voltage, significantly improves the overall quality of the weld to adhere to the target heat input.

Optionally, the welding assisting device further comprises a control unit comprising a processing module configured to calculate a speed difference between the welding speed and the target speed value for the welding speed. The processing module may also be configured to issue a speed difference signal indicative of the result of the speed difference. The visualization device is then configured to obtain a speed difference signal and to show the welder an indication of the speed difference.

A second embodiment of the invention relates to an arc welding kit comprising a welding auxiliary device as described above. The kit also includes a welding tool configured to be held by a welder. The welding tool includes an electrode. The welding tool also includes a voltage sensor configured to detect a welding voltage between the electrode and the welding area and to output a voltage signal indicative of the value of the welding voltage.

Optionally, the processing module is configured to calculate a voltage difference between the welding voltage and the target voltage. The processing module is also configured to issue a speed difference signal indicative of the result of such a speed difference. The visualization device on the welding mask can also be configured to obtain a voltage difference signal and to show the welder an indication of the voltage difference.

Optionally, the electrode may be consumed to perform SMAW welding.

Alternatively, the electrode is non-small model, thereby allowing the welder to perform TIG welding. In other words, in this case, the welding tool is a TIG welding torch.

Additional details and specific embodiments will be referred to the accompanying drawings, in which:
1 is a schematic view of an arc welding kit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a side cross-sectional view of the components of the kit of FIG. 1;
3 is a front cross-sectional view of the component of Fig. 2; Fig.
Figure 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the components of the kit of Figure 1, according to a different embodiment;
5 is a side cross-sectional view of the second component of the kit of FIG. 1;
6 is a top section view of the components of Fig. 5; Fig.
6A is an enlarged view of the detail of FIG. 6; FIG.
7 is a front cross-sectional view of the components of Figs. 5 and 6; Fig.
8 is a front view of a welding auxiliary device according to an embodiment of the present invention; And
9 is a schematic diagram of the function of the kit of FIG.

The following description of exemplary embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings. In the different drawings, the same reference numerals identify the same or similar elements. The following detailed description does not limit the present invention. Instead, the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.

Reference throughout the specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment " means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosed subject matter. Accordingly, the appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, certain features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, a reference numeral "1 " indicates an arc welding kit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The welding kit 1 comprises a welding tool configured to be held by a welder.

The welding tool (2) comprises an electrode (3). In the first embodiment, which is used to carry out SMAW (Coated Metal Arc Welding), shown in Figures 2 and 3, the electrode 3 is small scale. In other words, in this embodiment, the electrode 3 becomes a filling material for welding. In the second embodiment, shown in Fig. 4, the electrode 3 is non-small model and thus is used to perform TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding.

In more detail, the welding tool 2 comprises a main body 20, which is configured to support the electrode 3. The main body 20 is preferably axially symmetric and extends primarily along the longitudinal axis A. A handle (21) for the welder supports the main body (20).

The main body 20 has a sheet 20a on which an electrode 3 is provided. 2 and 4, the welding tool 2 is provided with bearings 22, which are attached to the main body and located in the vicinity of the sheet 20a, 3) and allows the electrodes to move forward and backward. In other words, the electrode 3 can be moved forward and backward within the seat 20a by sliding on the bearings 22.

The welding tool 2 also includes a regulating device 4 associated with the electrode 3 so as to move the electrode forward / backward relative to the main body 20. The adjusting device 4 comprises a central axis C which is arranged transversely and preferably vertically on the longitudinal axis A of the electrode 3 parallel to the axis of the main body 20, (23). In practice, the main body 20 is provided with a port 25 into which the wheel 23 is inserted.

The rim of the wheel 23 is in contact with the electrode 3 so that the electrode 3 is rotated about the longitudinal axis A by the rotation of the wheel 23 along the central axis C. [ Lt; / RTI > The regulating device 4 also includes a motor 24. Such a motor 24 is preferably an electric motor and more preferably an electromagnetic motor and is mounted on the wheel 23 for driving the wheel 23 and the electrode 3 via the wheel 23.

In particular, referring to the SMAW welding tool 2 of FIG. 2, it should be noted that, in use, the wheel 23 always advances because the electrode 3 is consumed during welding. Thus, the rotational speed of the motor 24 changes the rotational speed to provide the full rotational movement for the electrode and to adjust the distance of the tip of the electrode 3, as will be described later in this disclosure .

On the other hand, in the TIG welding tool 2 of Fig. 4, the electrode 3 is not consumed during welding. Thus, the wheel 23 only moves to adjust the distance of the electrode 3.

In addition, in the embodiment of Fig. 4, a source of inert gas (not shown in the figure) is provided to protect the tip and welding area of the electrode 3 from oxygen in the atmosphere. Such a source of inert gas is known per se to the person skilled in the art and will not be described in detail.

The kit 1 includes a voltage sensor 5 configured to detect the welding voltage Vw between the electrode 3 and the welding area, which is a function of the distance between the end of the electrode facing the workpiece and the welding area of the workpiece . The voltage sensor 5 is also configured to issue a voltage signal Vs, which represents the value of the welding voltage Vw. Such a voltage sensor 5 may be of any type known to those skilled in the art and will therefore not be described in detail.

The kit 1 further includes a control unit 6. In the section following this disclosure, the control unit 6 will be described as being subdivided into a plurality of modules. Such fragmentation is done merely for convenience of description and should not be considered to reflect the physical structure of the control unit 6 itself in any way. Instead, each module may be implemented as an electronic circuit, as a software routine, with appropriate hardware support, a subroutine or library, or both. Each module may reside on a local unit or be distributed over a network. Modules can also communicate with each other through a suitable wired or wireless protocol.

The control unit 6 includes a data acquisition module 7 configured to acquire the voltage signal Vs mentioned above.

The control unit 6 also includes a memory module 16, which is configured to store a target voltage value Vt.

The control unit 6 further comprises an input module 17 which is configured to set the target voltage value Vt in the memory module 16. [ In a particular embodiment of the invention, the input module 17 may be a QR code reader. In this way, not only the voltage Vt, but also any other parameters related to the welding process can be read by the input module 17, with respect to the appropriately encoded QR code.

The control unit 6 also comprises a processing module 8 which is configured to output a drive signal Sa which is at least a function of the voltage signal Vs. In addition, the processing module 8 is configured to retrieve the target voltage value Vt and compare it to the welding voltage value Vw. The drive signal Sa is thus, at least in part, directly proportional to the result of such a comparison. More specifically, the processing module 8 may be programmed with PID (proportional, integral and differential) logic. Therefore, the drive signal Sa can be the sum of the proportion directly proportional to the difference between "Vw" and "Vt ", the proportion proportional to the derivative of such difference, There will be. Any possible combination may be used, depending on the selected control strategy. The processing module 8 may also be configured to supply a voltage difference signal Dv that represents the result of the difference between "Vw" and "Vt ".

The control unit 6 also includes a drive module 14 connected to the regulating device 4. The drive module 14 is configured to actuate the regulating device 4 as indicated by the drive signal Sa. In particular, the drive module 14 operates a motor 24 that rotates the wheel 23. Optionally, the welding kit also includes a welding mask 9. Such a welding mask 9 is configured to be worn by the welder during the welding process as a standard safety mask. In particular, the welding mask 9 comprises a darkened window 10 which allows the welder to observe the welding process without the sight being lost by strong light.

In addition, the welding mask 9 is provided with the welding speed sensor 11. [ The welding speed sensor 11 is configured to detect the welding speed Wa and to output a welding speed signal Ws indicating a value of the welding speed Wa.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the welding speed sensor 11 includes a first optical sensor 12a. The first optical sensor 12a is arranged to look at the welding area, in particular during the welding operation. As shown in Figure 8, the first optical sensor is preferably placed on the outer surface of the welding mask 9, preferably above the darkened window 10. The welding speed sensor 11 preferably also includes a reference frame sensor 12b. This reference frame sensor 12b may be any kind of sensor capable of sensing movement within a fixed reference frame. For example, the reference frame sensor 12b may be an inertial sensor that is positioned on any point of the welding mask 9. [

More specifically, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 8, the reference frame sensor 12b is a second optical sensor. The reference frame sensor 12b is thus preferably arranged to look at a fixed reference screen in the environment, such as, for example, a workpiece portion from a welding area, and is arranged next to the first optical sensor 12a desirable. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sensors 12a, 12b are imaging cameras.

More specifically, the first optical sensor 12a is configured to detect the velocity of the welding pool to itself. Further, the reference frame sensor 12b is configured to detect the velocity of the fixed reference screen mentioned above. According to the first embodiment, the welding speed sensor 11 is also configured to calculate the welding speed Wa, which is configured to calculate the welding speed Wa, as the difference between the speeds detected by the sensor 12b and the first optical sensor 12a And a calculation module 13. Alternatively, both the first optical sensor 12a and the reference frame sensor 12b transmit their respective velocities to the control unit 6, in particular to the data acquisition module 7.

The processing module 8 is also configured to calculate a speed difference between the welding speed Wa and the target speed Wt and the processing module is adapted to generate a speed difference signal Dw indicative of the result of the speed difference .

Optionally, the welding mask 9 comprises a visualization device 15. Such a visualization device 15 is arranged so that it can be easily seen by the welder during the welding process. As shown in Figures 1 and 8, the visualization device 15 is preferably disposed within the welding mask 9, preferably on one side of the darkened window 10.

More specifically, the visualization device 15 is configured to acquire the speed difference signal Dw mentioned above, thereby showing the welder an indication of the speed difference. Similarly, the visualization device can be configured to obtain the voltage difference signal Dv mentioned above and to show the welder an indication of the voltage difference. As schematically shown in Fig. 8, the visualization apparatus includes a plurality of LEDs 26. In Fig. These LEDs are preferably arranged in a cross shape and are configured to emit light in such a manner that the welder must weld faster or slower, or indicate whether the welder should weld closer or further from the weld zone.

Referring specifically to Figures 5 and 6, the kit 1 may also include a handling device 18 for a filler rod (R). The handling device 18 includes a feeder 19 configured to advance the solenoid rod R during welding.

In more detail, the handling device 18 includes a main body 27 configured to support a solenoid rod R. The main body 27 is preferably axially symmetric and extends primarily along the longitudinal axis B. A handle 28 for the welder is attached to the main body 27. Preferably, the handle 28 surrounds the main body 27 of the handling device 18.

The main body 27 has a center seat 27a on which a heating bar R is disposed. 5, the handling device 18 is attached to the main body 27 to support the solenoid rod R and to allow the solenoid rod to move forward / backward, (29), which is located in the vicinity of the bearing (27a). In other words, the drag bar R can move forward / backward within the seat 27a by sliding on the bearings 29. [

The feed device 19 comprises a wheel 30 having a central axis D arranged transversely and preferably perpendicular to the longitudinal axis B of the main body 27.

The rim of the wheel 30 is in contact with the solenoid rod R so that the solenoid rod R is rotated in the longitudinal direction by the rotation of the wheel 30 along the center axis D B). The feed device 19 also includes a motor 31. Such a motor 31 is preferably an electric motor, more preferably an electromagnetic motor, and is mounted on the wheel 30 to drive the solenoid rod R.

In an alternative embodiment, not shown in the drawings, the feed device 19 includes an electromagnetic drive for the solenoid rod R, instead of the wheel 30 and the motor 31.

If the handling device 18 is used, the processing module 8 may be configured to issue a feed rate signal Sv to the drive module 14. [ The feed speed signal Sv is preferably proportional to the feed speed value Fv. Thus, the drive module 14 is also configured to actuate the feed device 19 of the handling device 18, as indicated by the feed rate signal Sv.

6A, the handling device 18 includes a control interface 32 associated with the processing module 8. The control interface 32 is configured to issue a command signal Cv to the processing module 8 so that the welder can increase or decrease the feed rate signal Sv.

More specifically, the control interface 32 includes a button 33 disposed on the handle 28. In particular, the button 33 allows the welder to continuously adjust the feed rate; Button 33 is designed to provide tactile feedback in the form of "clicks" at predetermined intervals so that the welder can recognize a certain degree of amount that the feed rate is being manually increased or decreased. do.

Claims (11)

As a welding auxiliary device,
A welding mask 9; A welding speed sensor (11) attached on the welding mask (9) and configured to detect a welding speed (Wa); And a visualization device (15) attached to the welding mask (9) and arranged to show the welder an indication of the welding speed (Wa) and the resulting heat input. The method according to claim 1,
The welding mask 9 comprises a darkened window 10 for a welder and the visualization device 15 is arranged inside the welding mask 9 and preferably on one side of the darkened window 10, In the welding position. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the visualization device comprises a plurality of LEDs (26). The method of claim 3,
The LEDs are preferably arranged in a cross shape and the LEDs are configured to emit in such a way as to provide an indication to the welder relating to the performance of the welding operation. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The welding speed sensor 11 is configured to generate a welding speed signal Ws indicating a value of the welding speed Wa; The welding auxiliary device further comprises a data acquisition module (7) configured to acquire the welding speed signal (Ws), a speed difference between the welding speed (Wa) and the target speed (Wt) value for the welding speed Wherein the processing module (8) is configured to issue a speed difference signal (Dw) indicative of a result of the speed difference; Wherein the visualization device (15) is configured to obtain the speed difference signal (Dw) and to show the welder an indication of the speed difference. 6. The method of claim 5,
The welding speed sensor (11) comprises a first optical sensor (12a) arranged to look at the welding area and configured to detect a welding speed to itself; A reference frame sensor 12b configured to detect its own speed relative to the fixed reference; (13) configured to calculate the welding speed (Wa) as a difference between the velocities detected by the first optical sensor (12a) and the reference frame sensor (12b). . The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the reference frame sensor (12b) is a second optical sensor arranged to look at a fixed reference. 8. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 7,
The processing module 8 is configured to calculate a voltage difference between a welding voltage Vw and a target voltage Vt and the processing module 8 is adapted to calculate a voltage difference signal Dv, Wherein the visualization device (15) is configured to obtain the voltage difference signal (Dv) and to show the welder an indication of the voltage difference. An arc welding kit (1) comprising:
A welding auxiliary device according to any one of claims 5 to 8; A welding tool (2) configured to be held by a welder, comprising: an electrode (3), for detecting the welding voltage (Vw) between the electrode (3) And a voltage sensor (5) configured to output a voltage signal (Vs) representative of the value of the voltage signal (Vs). 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the electrode (3) is consumable for performing SMAW welding. 11. The method according to claim 9 or 10,
The electrode (3) is non-consumable for performing TIG welding.

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